This invention relates to headwear that provides its wearers with relief from the effects of sun, wind, and perhaps most importantly, heat. More particularly, it relates to headwear into which a cooling substance such as ice may be contained and in which the course taken by the liquid water that results from the melting of the ice is controlled to a desired location on the body, preferably the neck of the wearer.
Various articles of headgear purportedly useful for protecting its wearers from many environmental factors such as heat, cool, solar rays, wind, blowing sand, etc. have been devised and disclosed in the prior art. The following U.S. Patents are useful to illustrate but a few of the prior art teachings concerned with such articles:
U.S. Pat. No. 1,567,931 discloses a compress having a plurality of layers of absorbent material on one side and a rubber lining on the other side and having a longitudinal seam along the bottom and two seams extending upwardly from the ends thereof, to unite the several layers of materials along the seams and form a pocket, in which the pocket is open at the top so as to be capable of receiving ice or water.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,029,438 provides a headband comprising a visor having an annular sweat-band attached to the visor. The sweatband includes an annular strip made of thin malleable metal foil having an inwardly presented face and an outwardly presented face. The inwardly presented face is adapted for contact directly against the brow and head of the wearer. There is a water saturable sponge layer positioned facewise against the outwardly presented face of the strip which is slightly narrower than the strip so that its longitudinal margins extend in inwardly spaced parallel relation to the longitudinal margins of the strip. There is a fabric layer disposed against the outwardly presented case of the sponge layer and extending inwardly around the longitudinal margins thereof for flatwise overlying contact against the projecting portions of the strip. There are also a pair of hems extending enclosingly around and being stitched to the fabric layer and strip in the region where the fabric layer and strip are in overlying engagement.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,889,684 teaches a pack for therapeutic heat transfer with portions of the human body which comprises a substantially fluid impervious envelope, heat transfer means enclosed therein, and a porous flexible cover therefor surrounding the envelope, in which the cover comprises: a) a flat sheet member folded along a fold line to provide a pair of superimposed members, the members being detachably fastened along the edges thereof beyond the fold line to permit ready insertion and removal of the pouch; b) a plurality of flexible strap means attached to the cover member having detachable fastening means at the end of each; and c) cooperating fastening members attached to the body of the cover at points remote from the strap members to permit attachment of the heat exchange assembly to a body member.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,180,868 teaches a hat accessory which has a rear piece 11 which in FIG. 2 therein is shown to include an outer material layer 14 which is sized in length 16 to extend from above the rim 18 of the hat. The outer layer 14 is sized in width 20 to extend around the rim 18 of the hat 12 rearward between about the temples of the user, as shown in FIG. 1. the outer layer 14 may be water-repellant or fire-retardant material. The accessory also has an inner layer 22, which is secured to the outer layer 14 along the edges thereof, to form a pocket 28 (FIG. 4) that is sized in length from about the upper edge 24 of the outer layer 14 to about the collar area 30 (FIG. 1) of a user when the accessory is adapted to the hat 12. The inner layer 22 is made of a mesh-like cloth, to avoid chaffing and to absorb perspiration during hot weather or exertion. In this accessory, there is disclosed an insert 32 that is adapted to be fit inside the pocket 28, which insert is preferably formed of a pliable liquid-absorbent material so that in periods of warm weather it may be soaked in a liquid such as water to provide evaporative cooling to the wearer.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,641,655 provides a cooling wrap that includes: a) an elongated strip of water-pervious fabric forming a central pouch section with tying straps at both ends, the pouch section being formed by a single fold of the sides of the strip of fabric and the tying straps being formed by stitching the single folds together; b) an elongated bag formed of water pervious fabric secured in the pouch section, the bag having an open-pored foam liner along at least one side; and c) a closure means for the bag, whereby the cooling wrap may be tied around a portion of the body and a frozen water medium placed in the bag will have body heat transferred thereto resulting in a controlled dispensing of water through the foam liner and fabric to the body portion.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,054,122 discloses a hat having a head covering including: a) a portion adapted to be disposed adjacent the forehead of a wearer, this portion having an inwardly opening channel on the inner surface thereof, b) a plurality of cooling elements disposed within the channel, the cooling elements each having opposite ends, the ends of adjacent cooling elements being spaced from one another to define gaps therebetween; c) a ventilating socket disposed inwardly of the cooling elements, the ventilating socket having a plurality of vent holes formed therethrough, and wherein the ventilating socket has a plurality of spaced outwardly extending strips thereon, the strips being fastened within the gaps.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,197,292 sets forth a headwear device for cooling the wearer, that includes: a) a cap having an interior surface and exterior surface, the cap having at least one opening to at least one defined compartment chamber within, the chamber formed therewithin by the interior surface of the cap and an exterior surface of the cap; and b) the chamber interior adapted to contain ice and having at least one surface comprising means for transmitting fluid melted ice from the chamber interior through the caps interior surface and dripping the fluid at a moderate rate onto the head of the wearer.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,557,807 teaches an article of headwear having coolant means removably supported therein, which includes in its construction: a) headwear having at least a crown section designed to cover the top of a head of a wearer, the crown section including at least a dome, front, and left and right sides; b) at least one pouch secured inside the crown; c) the coolant means comprising a pliable closure means containing a liquid adapted to be refreezable, the coolant means shaped to be received and stored in the pouch, wherein the pouch is constructed of a first layer of a first material and a second layer of second material, the second material different from the first material, the first layer of material provided on the outside of the pouch and being a thin material having good thermal transmissive properties, and the second material provided interior of the first material and having thermal insulative properties.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,822,800 discloses a multi-functional hat comprising: a) a substantially tubular hat body with an upper edge and a bottom edge; b) a tubular drawstring channel formed along the upper edge and encircling the tubular hat body for enclosing a drawstring; c) a drawstring positioned in the drawstring channel, the drawstring having opposed ends passing outwardly to exterior the hat body; d) a domal head covering attached to the tubular hat body near the upper edge; and e) an opening in a front portion of the head covering, the opening comprising a face opening.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,940,880 teaches an apparatus for providing coolant water to the head of a user during exercise or other strenuous activity, which includes in its construction: a) a water bladder, the water bladder having flexible walls that collapse when empty to form a generally flat profile; b) an air bladder, the air bladder having flexible walls that collapse when empty to form a generally flat profile, the air bladder positioned in parallel planar orientation with the water bladder, c) a flexible envelope, the flexible envelope configured to receive the water bladder and the air bladder in the parallel planar orientation through an opening on a first end of the envelope, the envelope further configured to restrict expansion of the air bladder and the water bladder when each of the bladders are filled; d) an irrigation conduit, the conduit positioned about the head of the user in a manner that permits flow of water therefrom onto the head of the user; e) a water conduit connecting the water bladder to the irrigation conduit; and f) means for pressurizing the air bladder, wherein pressurization of the air bladder forces water from the water bladder through the water conduit into the irrigation conduit in a manner that dispenses water from the irrigation conduit onto the head of the user.
Of these and other devices, hat accessories, etc. of the prior art, however, none has thus far provided any headwear which contains a flap portion that the user may charge with ice, wherein the ice is caused to melt under the effect of ambient heat and in which the liquid water resulting from the melting of the ice may under the effect of gravity be caused to fall to the wearer""s body in a desired location. Even U.S. Pat. No. 4,180,868, while providing an accessory with a pouch into which a water-soaked insert may be placed, is not configured so that a portion of the a panel of its construct beneath which lies the pocket is disposed to be in direct contact with the neck of the wearer. No headwear or hat accessory of the prior art provides a pouch portion which is adapted to Is contain ice, in which the bottom of the pouch touches the neck of the wearer so that as the ice melts, the water so formed is caused to penetrate the panel(s) and immediately contact the neck of the wearer upon its exit from the panel(s). Further, none of the prior art provides such an article which simultaneously protects the wearer from the effects of the sun""s rays. Finally, none of the prior art provides such a device which accomplishes the foregoing while shielding the wearer from the effects of the wind. The present invention provides headwear articles having these features.
According to the present invention there is provided a headwear article useful for cooling its wearer which comprises a head fitment portion and a pouch portion. The pouch portion includes a first panel disposed towards the neck of the wearer and a second panel disposed away from the neck of the wearer. The panels are attached to one another so as to provide the pouch with an interior portion between said panels which is adapted to contain ice. The pouch has an upper portion and a lower portion, and the pouch is affixed to the head fitment portion at the upper portion, such that a portion of the first panel beneath which lies said interior portion is disposed to be in direct contact with the neck of the wearer. The pouch portion is affixed to the head fitment portion of an article of headwear at the upper portion of the pouch. Under such an arrangement, the ice in the pouch is caused to be melted under the effects of ambient heat and the melted ice drips out of the pouch portion at its lower edge, and onto the neck and back of the wearer. The cooling effect of the water being continuously applied to the neck and back of the wearer provides comfort on hot days, or during work or exercise activities. The head fitment portion of the invention may include any article of headwear known in the art.